The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) has announced that the country’s national dam levels have reached over 85% capacity, indicating a strong water security position. This is a significant improvement compared to the same period last year when dam levels were at 71% capacity.

620 farmers have signed water abstraction agreements, allowing them to draw water from national dams for irrigation of winter crops such as wheat, barley, and potatoes. Additional farmers have secured agreements for sugarcane, tobacco, citrus fruits, horticultural crops, and livestock watering.

ZINWA spokesperson Mrs. Marjorie Munyonga emphasized the importance of formalizing water use through these agreements. She urged farmers who have planted crops without valid abstraction agreements to approach ZINWA and regularize their water use promptly.

To safeguard equitable water distribution, ZINWA is intensifying monitoring and surveillance efforts along river channels to detect and eliminate illegal water abstractions.

The announcement comes as a welcome relief following the official close of the 2025 winter wheat planting window. Farmers surpassed government targets, planting 122,142 hectares of wheat. The government projects a national grain surplus of 812,000 tonnes, highlighting promising food security prospects for Zimbabwe in the coming year. end//..